Autumn Impressions

Autumn ImpressionsFall Aspen trees reflected in Lake Grant near Crested Butte, Colorado create an impressionistic view of fall color.

I have always enjoyed the art created by the impressionist painters. I recently learned that many of them used photography to capture the scenes of life they later expressed in their paintings. The photograph above brings the art of impressionism full-circle back to photography.

After trying unsuccessfully, for many years to create that painterly look in my photographs, it turned out that nature provided the perfect fuzziness that filters and brushes in software just could not achieve. The thing I like most about the art of the impressionists is that they can convey a subject using color and form without distracting details. Getting rid of the details is pretty tough using modern photographic techniques. Even using special optics like the Lens Baby or glass filters with nail polish has left me disappointed with the results.

"Autumn Impressions" was photographed in 2014 at Lake Grant in the Skyland community near Crested Butte. The light was my favorite for photographing aspen forests, bright and diffused daylight. The fall colors were at their peak and the perfect ripples in the lake were provided by aerators used to circulate air through the water. My first attempts at composing this image included the tops of the colorful trees but the rocks and dirt behind them were distracting and pulled attention away from the reflection. I think the white trunks of the aspen trees bring quite a lot to the scene. Some other species of tree might not have worked as well.

I hope you like "Autumn Impressions". It just sold from Paradise Cafe in downtown Crested Butte, Colorado.